Anna Hazare's fast puts Jan Lokpal on the nation's agenda, but doubts remain whether it will help root out corruption. A FUTURE historian who browses the archives of Indian newspapers and news websites from April 5 to 10 will be confused over how to characterise the groundswell of public support across the country for the “fast unto death” undertaken at Jantar Mantar, in New Delhi, by a social activist not...

A United Nations-backed agreement reached this weekend will help ensure that influenza virus samples will be shared during a pandemic with partners who need the information to take steps to protect public health. The framework includes binding legal regimes for the UN World Health Organization (WHO), national influenza laboratories and industry partners in both developed and developing countries that will strengthen how the world responds more effectively with the next flu...

Extreme poverty and clamour for firewood have forced some people in Nayagram into extreme occupations. One such is gathering kolmipoka, an insect with medicinal value After walking almost 30km along rutted roads since the morning, middle-aged Bonchu Nayek returns to his humble home, a two-room hut, as darkness descends on Nayagram—one of West Bengal’s poorest villages—with his day’s earning of Rs10. Nayek, whose forefathers were hunters, belongs to the Lodha-Sabar tribe. With...

Social activist Anna Hazare, whose last week's fast forced the Centre to form a joint committee to draft the Lokpal Bill, on Monday asked Communications and HRD Minister Kapil Sibal to resign from the panel if he felt that it would be able to achieve nothing. Mr. Sibal reportedly said on Sunday that the Bill would not be able to solve problems related to education, health or civic issues. However, on...

We should be grateful to Anna Hazare for dedicating his life to the people and battling for accountability in governance. Millions look to him for inspiration and guidance. We are all sick of mismanagement, venality and the lack of accountability that plague not only governance but also other institutions, including many NGOs that call themselves “civil society” institutions, the term made fashionable by international donor agencies. The support base of this...